Dancing with Danger
by bellzzz
Summary: When they first came, all she wanted to do was run and hide. Now, she would give up her life a million times just to kick their asses and smirk in their ugly faces. Pacific Rim fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Pacific Rim.

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August, 2013 was when everything changed.

The world changed for the worse. Monsters, or Kaiju, as the people came to call them, emerged from the ocean. They came from the bridge that connected the human world to the realm of the aliens. They came from the sea and not the sky. They came, and brought about death. Millions of deaths.

In 2014, the initial concept was formed. Nearly a year later, the first Jaeger, was created. Jaegers. The mech that was built to fight the Kaijus. Big, strong, powerful. The battle took a turn, and Jaeger pilots were enlisted and trained everywhere. Compatible pilots were drifted with each other, and a compatible pair would share the neural load of drifting with a Jaeger. They controlled the Jaeger with their minds, moving in sync to attack the Kaijus. From then on, fighting the Kaijus became a more manageable job, though not necessarily easier.

The world celebrated. Jaegers and their pilots were idolized and admired. The people thought the battle was already won. With the Jaegers being able to handle the Kaijus. But then problems began to arise.

The Kaijus started evolving and rising in categories, and suddenly, the Jaegers weren't good enough. It was just the beginning.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Pacific Rim, but I do own Bella Becket.

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Alarms blared loudly in the Anchorage shatterdome. Somewhere among the many living quarters within the shatterdome, the Becket siblings began to stir. Bella rubbed her eyes sleepily. Her older brother, Raleigh Becket was jumping out of bed excitedly, shaking awake both of his siblings, before running off to change. The oldest Becket, Yancy, gave his younger sister a gentle pat on the back. "Go back to sleep, its 2am in the morning. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to handle this Kaiju without you watching us from the command room for every second of the battle." he said to her, with a hint of sacarsm. Bella Becket growled at him slightly before stumbling off to change.

Within minutes, the three Beckets were headed towards the Jaeger that Raleigh and Yancy piloted. Gipsy Danger.

They were Jaeger pilots, and she wasn't. That was something she was still bitter about every time her brothers went on missions. They had enlisted together after their parents had died during the third Kaiju attack, and it was the haunting memory of their parents death that motivated them to train. Sure, her brothers had enlisted first for fun and as a joke, but she had felt compelled to join later when the Kaiju killed their parents. That event was what had turned the three siblings into serious trainee pilots.

But then the blow came for Bella. She was compatible with both of her brothers. All three of them were drift compatible with each other. However, she had only been 13 then. Raleigh had been 18, and Yancy, 21. The academy only allowed trainees 18 years old and above to drift with a Jaeger. This was because the neural bridge would be too much for those too young. Raleigh and Yancy became Jaeger pilots, and the young girl was left furious. Forced to continue training. Knowing that she would have to wait at least 5 years to become a pilot and avenge her parents.

Currently, Bella gave both her older brothers a hug, which they gladly returned before climbing into their Jaeger, waving one last goodbye to their little sister. Bella was 17 now, and she planned on becoming a Jaeger pilot the minute she turned 18. She headed towards the LOCCENT, the command and communication center, while the Gipsy Danger was lifted by a helicopter and out into the sea to face the category III Kaiju.

As the girl neared the command room, she could hear voices, shouts, and exasperated commands from Marshall Stacker Pentecost. The man who oversaw all operations at the Anchorage shatterdome.

"Forget the boat, there are millions of lives at stake in the city. You can't risk all of them just for a few people in a boat." Pentecost tried to reason exasperatedly with the Gipsy Danger pilots through the mouthpiece. Bella made her way over to stand next to Pentecost at the front of the communication centre, carefully avoiding all the expensive machinery and the throngs of people rushing around the room, who were observing the fight and running the programs. Holograms were all over the room, fully depicting the Kaiju as it thrashed around in the water, trying to get the fishing boat. The room watched with their breaths caught in their lungs. Bella heard Raleigh's voice over the intercom as he tried to argue with Stacker. But Yancy quickly silenced him. "Yes sir." He said to Pentecost.

The oldest Becket quickly cut the communication off, before turning to his younger brother. "Ral, hold ugly over there off while I get the boat."

Their younger sister smiled slightly when she heard the click that signaled that the brothers had cut off the communication system. Even though she couldn't hear what they saying, she was pretty sure it involved the rescue of a little fishing boat. Next to the girl, Pentecost sighed when he heard the click. He knew the brothers long enough to guess what they were saying.

"I would ask you to stop them," he muttered to the her, "but it's not hard to guess whose side you're on." Bella smirked cheekily at him before both turned their attention to the fight that had just started.

The enormous Jaeger had just risen out of the sea, the deep vibrations could be felt miles away. The right arm of the mech reached down and scooped up a boat that looked like an ant in the Jaeger's hand. It then quickly turned around and placed the boat onto the water, before whipping around to come face to face with the largest category III Kaiju ever seem before.

The two pilots wasted no time, and they threw a right punch at the Kaiju in sync. Before the creature even had chance to retaliate, a left punch hit the horn on its head, hard. The brothers then raised both arms up high, and mustered all their strength before bringing the Jaeger's fist down onto the flat of the Kaiju's head. Knifehead, the Kaiju's code name, stumbled back into the water heavily. It quickly collected itself and erupted from the water again, slamming into the Jaeger ferociously. Yancy and Raleigh were knocked back, but they quickly steadied themselves and thrust both their fists forwards, knocking Knifehead back.

"Fire!" Yancy yelled, as the Gipsy Danger blasted plasma out of the plasmacaster cannon at the end of its right arm. Thrice, it was fired, and each time, it hit the Kaiju right in the stomach. It fell back into the sea, causing a deafening splash.

In the command centre, Bella let out a sigh of relief, at the fact that her brothers were safe. Her heart was practically in her mouth, each time her brothers went on missions. There had been five so far. Each time, she watched and prayed for them to be all right. She wanted really badly to be fighting alongside her brothers. After all, they had always done everything together since the day their parents died, as the only ones they had left were each other. She had changed a lot after their parent's deaths. The once shy and timid soul had become stronger. Her spirit was as hard as a diamond. Nothing like her old, weak and brittle self. Everyday, she pushed herself and trained tirelessly. Along with her brothers, she had become a master fighter, and she was skilled in all kinds of martial arts. She even tried learning about the engineering stuff for the Jaegers, so that she would become a better pilot. Sadly, engineering wasn't really her thing, as machines seemed to fall apart at the sight of her, instead of fixing at her touch. All the same, she trained hard in all aspects, with rarely any breaks. Unlike most teenage girls her age, she had no time for shopping, make up and other girly stuff. She spent all her free time training, in hopes that she might get a chance to be a Jaeger pilot earlier. That was all she really wanted to do, kick some Kaiju butt.

"Job done sir. Lit up thrice! That's our fifth kill!" Raleigh's enthusiastic voice came over the intercom.

"You disobeyed a direct order!" Pentecost bellowed back into the mouthpiece, his eyes wide with annoyance and anger.

"Sir! We intercepted a Kaiju and saved everyone on that boat." The older brother replied.

"Get back to your post now!" Stacker ordered fiercely.

"Yes sir."

All of a sudden, Tendo Choi, the 28 year-old stocky, Chinese-Peruvian man who was the main technician of the Anchorage shatterdome and was in charge of this operation, caught sight of the rising Kaiju pulse detected on the screen in front of him.

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A/N: In case you noticed, the main character of this story, Bella Becket, shares the same first name as me. I actually didn't intend to do that, but I couldn't think of a name. When I searched for names similar to Yancy and Raleigh, Bella came up. Then I was like: OMG IS THAT MY NAME?! WHOA... I'm gonna use it!

This character is definitely not me, or a representative of me. But I did feel kind of honored seeing my name in a story that is NOT Twilight.

Thank you for reading! Please leave me a review, and tell me what you think about the story. Good and bad.

Bella:)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Pacific Rim if that isn't already obvious.

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"Kaiju signature rising!" Tendo quickly yelled out. "That thing's still alive sir."

The Marshall's eyes widened before rushing to the mouthpiece. "Gypsy, we're still getting a signature! That Kaiju is still alive!"

Bella felt her breath catch in her throat, at the thought of the massive Kaiju still out there swimming around them, probably aching to kill her brothers.

"Grab the boat and get out of there, you copy?! Grab the boat and get out of there now!" Pentecost ordered the two pilots, barely managing to keep in check the overwhelming fear and anxiety he was feeling. But he knew that as a Marshall, he had to control his emotions, a leader could not expect his men stay calm if he was a nervous wreck himself.

All of a sudden, the beast launched itself out of the water. Its claws smashed against the right side of the Gipsy Danger, and its teeth flashed dangerously inches away from the front of the Conn-Pod, which was the cockpit of the Jaeger.

Inside, Yancy and Raleigh swayed helplessly from the force of the impact.

"I've got this." Raleigh replied Yancy, as he jerked his left arm into place and prepared to fire the plasmacaster at the Kaiju. However, before a single shot could be fired, the Kaiju leapt forward and ripped the Jaeger's left arm clean off.

Raleigh's scream tore through the air within the Conn-Pod. Everyone in the control room heard it, and cringed at the thought of the pain he was in. Bella's eyes welled up with tears, and she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand. Her mind was brimming with violent ways to kill the Kaiju that were sure to make it beg for death.

The entire arm had been ripped out, and being connected to the Jaeger meant that Raleigh had felt pain similar to having his own arm torn out. Bella's fist curled into tight balls, her fingernails breaking through her skin. She yearned badly to enter the battle and bash the Kaiju senseless. In fact, she had already turned on the balls of her feet, and would've stormed out to find a helicopter to fly herself there, had Stacker not grabbed her arm and held her in place, meeting her fiery glare with distressed but collected eyes.

She looked away and ripped her arm out from his grasp, but stayed where she was and turned her focus grudgingly back to the fight.

The Kaiju had torn the arm up and tossed it into the water. The falling pieces of debris nearly missing the fishing boat.

Knifehead turned back and swung at the Conn-Pod again. The powerful strike shattered the hull of the cockpit. "It went through the hull!" Raleigh shouted to his brother desperately, his voice still riddled with pain.

"Raleigh listen to me," his older brother managed to get out, before he was wrenched from the cockpit by the Kaiju's sharp claws.

"Nooo!" Raleigh's voice was hoarse with anguish and disbelief. Powerful emotions went through him. But not all were his, they were his brother's. Pain, helplessness, worry, bitter resignation. These shot through him at the speed of light, until it finally paused at one final thought. Yancy was trying to tell him something. "I love you kiddo, tell Bell I love her for me as well will ya?" Then the connection went dead. His thoughts were his own, and Yancy was gone. Forever.

A hundred pairs of eyes stared at the screen in the control room. They watched with wide eyes as the pulse of Yancy Becket slowly became a straight line.

"No, no, no, no!" Bella whispered agitatedly under her breath. The last 'no' ended up as a crazed shriek that echoed throughout the otherwise silent room. No one else dared to make a sound. They merely stared at the screens blankly, their faces distraught and shocked. The girl stumbled out of the room, running wildly. No one dared to make any attempt to stop her.

She had not a clue where she was going, but somehow her feet ended up where she needed to go. The hangar. She climbed into the helicopter in the launching pad, and she slid the door shut. "Go." She ordered simply, before slumping into the nearest seat and buckling her seatbelt.

"She's here. We're setting off now." The middle-aged female officer at the door reported into her mouthpiece before buckling herself up beside the youngest Becket. The medic team were already assembled in their seats. The pilot quickly flipped the controls, and the helicopter steadily ascended.

"Good. Head for the sea first, try to locate the Gipsy Danger. Find Raleigh Becket. We have lost connection with Gipsy, but the Kaiju is dead." Pentecost's voice crackled slightly over the intercom.

"Yes, Marshall." The woman replied before glancing at the girl nervously, unsure how she had taken the news. "We're on our way."

Bella kept her eyes on her feet. Her face was devoid of any expression, but inside her was a boiling turmoil of emotions. She detached herself from the outside world, as she thought about Yancy.

Her older brother had always been extremely protective of her. Of both of them in fact. He never allowed anyone to touch his younger siblings, and he would've pulverized anyone who was a threat to the two younger Beckets.

All three of them were also pretty hotheaded and stubborn; each time two of them got into an argument that escalated into a fight, the third one would usually break them up and act as the in-between. Now with only two of them, there would be no one to break them up if they fought. But that was the least of her worries. What really struck her, was that there were only two of them now. She couldn't believe a life could be lost so suddenly. The girl finally let her tears flow freely down her cheeks. The river of sorrow and grief, but also anger. Yancy was gone forever. She would never feel his warmth anymore, never talk to him again, never be able to feel his love.

But she had something else weighing deep on her mind as well, Raleigh was still somewhere out there, and Bella had no clue whether he was dead or alive. Her heart sank even further down, if that were even possible.

Suddenly, a voice came over the intercom again.

"Head to the shores of Anchorage, about twenty miles west of your current position. There have been reports of a fallen Jaeger there, together with a pilot." Marshall's voice spoke. "Go there immediately. The other helicopter will go to the battle site instead."

"Yes, sir." The officer answered, before relating the command with the pilot of the helicopter.

The helicopter soon landed on the cold, white ice, next to the gigantic Jaeger, lying face-down on the ground. The young girl practically flew out of the helicopter to a spot on the ice near the ruined Conn-Pod.

"Ral!" She cried out, as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her to her brother. The old man raised his head and moved over to make space for the girl. He watched from the side sadly, as the girl fell to her knees beside the unconscious pilot. He averted his eyes out of respect, when the girl started sobbing uncontrollably next to her brother's motionless body. The white-uniformed men and women had come hurrying over to them carrying medical supplies.

The old man knew it was time for him to go. He had done his part. He had comforted the young pilot until the boy had lost consciousness, and his grandson had been the one who called for help. There was really nothing more an old man could do here, except pray that the young pilot survived the ordeal. He didn't know much about the Jaegers and all the modern technology they used nowadays, but he knew enough to know that the young pilot was a hero. A hero that had saved countless lives by putting his own life a risk. And all he could do now for that hero, was sit by and watch as he suffered.

The old man turned and was about to shuffle away from the scene, when he noticed the girl raising her head from her brother's chest where she had been sobbing. She looked directly at him with red and puffy eyes, before giving him a sad smile and a nod that showed her gratitude for what he had done.

The corners of his lips lifted slightly to give her encouragement, before turning away again and making his way back to his hut.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, although it was mainly just a filler, not much action. But don't worry, I'm working on the romance department already.

Please tell me what you think about the story, and sorry for any grammatical errors, because I am lazy, and I can't bring myself to look through it one more time. I posted it earlier, before reading through and editing, as I was too impatient, so I'm sorry if you read the horrible completely unedited version. If you didn't then just ignore this part.

Review!:) Good and bad are both wanted.

Bella:)


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I DO NOT BLOODY OWN PACIFIC RIM.

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The nurses hurriedly pushed the stretcher into the emergency room. They hustled professionally past the few people surrounding the young man on the stretcher and wheeled it through the huge doors of the surgery room.

Hercules Hansen stood by the side helplessly. That was a good friend of his inside the room. He couldn't bear lose Raleigh now, after losing his other good friend, Yancy, less than an hour ago. But that was the risk of being a Jaeger pilot. You could die at any time. He approached the girl standing next to the doors. He could tell she was trying not to break down again. Herc wanted to comfort her, but he had no clue how. She was one of his good friends as well, but after what had happened, it wouldn't exactly be easy to console her. Bella Becket was strong, both mentally and physically, Herc knew her well enough to know that. But this wasn't just a small hill for her to overcome. She'd just lost one brother, and her other brother was currently in the emergency room fighting for his life. He had no idea how a person was supposed to live through that kind of mental torture.

"What is an old bloke like me supposed to do here?" He muttered sullenly to himself. He had always been more of a fatherly figure to the three Beckets, and since when did teenagers these days turn to their parents for help or comfort? He was so bloody old, that his son was the same age as the girl.

Just then, an idea struck him. His son, Chuck Hansen. He smiled a little at the thought of having finally found a way to console the girl. They weren't exactly friends or acquaintances yet, they probably didn't even know of each other's existence. But, he was sure that the two kids would be able to bond with each other, and what the girl really needed now was someone her age.

Herc strode off purposefully to his living quarters to fetch his son.  
The girl lifted her head slightly as she heard footsteps receding. But she didn't show any sign of noticing. Bella sank into a cold, plastic chair, and stared blankly at the plain, white walls in front of her. Stacker, the female officer who had been with her on the helicopter, and a few other close friends of the Beckets offered her their condolences solemnly. They hung around awkwardly for a while before leaving one by one, until only she was left. Waiting motionlessly for the doors to open again. She wasn't even sure if she wanted it to open. She couldn't bear to hear anything other than good news.

Meanwhile, Chuck Hansen nervously made his way with his father towards the hospital wing of the shatterdome. He honestly had no clue what he was supposed to do. He had never even met Bella Becket before. The closest he had gotten, was when he and his father had fought alongside her brothers in Manila, against a category IV kaiju. His father had apparently thought that Bella would cheer up magically at the sight of him. He sighed heavily at the cluelessness of his father. Not to mention the fact that his anger towards his father for his mother's death hadn't changed a single bit, and his father was acting like everything was fine.

"Bella! I've brought someone to cheer you up!" Herc shouted across the hallway excitedly. Chuck tensed a little and smiled nervously at the girl a few feet away from him. She looked up in surprise, and her head cocked slightly to one side, with a puzzled gaze. Her long, dirty blonde hair tumbled down to the front of her shoulders.

"Hey mate, the name's Charles Hansen. But you can call me Chuck." He said with an awkward attempt at a smile, and his speech laced with his unmistakable Australian accent.

"My name is Bella, Bella Becket."  
Chuck wasn't sure what exactly he was supposed to do around girls who looked like they were going to burst into tears at any time. Truthfully, he was rather socially awkward. He had enlisted in the Jaeger academy when he was twelve, and had barely any time for a social life. His only friends, were his bulldog, Max, and few other proficient Jaeger pilots like him. Chuck cursed his father under his breath for landing him in such a situation.

Herc gave him an encouraging look, and shot Bella a sympathetic glance. Chuck bit his lip nervously and took a seat beside the girl.

"Sorry about my father... I swear, he's gone nuts."  
"It's okay, he means well." She replied with the slight trace of an amused grin on her face. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to, I wouldn't want you to feel forced." She added.

"Nah, I couldn't leave a distressed girl alone."  
Bella nodded distractedly in response. He punched her playfully but gently on her arm. "No response? No thank you?" He asked with a slight smirk. He was well aware that his attempt to make her laugh was pretty dumb, but his mind was drawing blanks at the moment.

"Thanks." She muttered sarcastically, "so... You're a Jaeger pilot huh? I think my brothers have mentioned you before."

"Yeah, co-pilot of the Striker Eureka, the Australian mark-5 Jaeger. My co-pilot is my father."

"That's so cool!" She replied wistfully. "I've always wanted to be a Jaeger pilot as well! But Stacker keeps saying I'm not old enough. According to him, Jaeger pilots must be at least 18."

"Really?" Chuck said in surprise, "but I'm only 17, and I've been a Jaeger pilot for nearly a year now."

Bella frowned and her brilliant blue eyes narrowed into little more than slits.  
"Pentecost." She growled slightly. "He lied to me!"

Chuck raised his eyebrows, a cheeky and amused smile evident on his face. "I'll help you get him back." He said in between chuckles. "But do you have what it takes to be a Jaeger pilot? It's not as easy as it looks you know, only certain people can make it, take me for example." Chuck pointed out seriously.

"I've been training for the past four years, and I've mastered just about every single fighting technique there is." Bella replied with slight annoyance. Chuck seemed a little too boastful to her, and she couldn't help but give him a taste of his own medicine. However, she still felt that Chuck was a good guy, despite his slightly overwhelming arrogance. She could tell that he had a good heart and honest intentions.

The two 17 year old teenagers continued to bicker playfully like children, about whose fighting skills were better. It wasn't exactly a 'healthy' conversation, but it did help to relieve some of the heavy load pressing on the girl's mind, and that was al that mattered to the two of them.

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A/N: Hey!:) sorry for posting this chapter so late, my phone was confiscated by my parents for three days, and then I was busy with school.

Anyway, hope you like this chapter even though wasn't much action. It was mostly filler, because I was trying to introduce Chuck and draw out his personality.

Thanks for reading, I love all of you! Please review!

bella:)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Pacific Rim *sighs*

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Raleigh awoke to a sharp stab of pain in his left shoulder and chest, as well as a dull ache in his head. He glanced around wearily. He was in a room as far as he could tell. The walls of the room were completely spotless, with the exception of a small framed painting of a flower. The bed he was lying on had fresh, white bed sheets, and there was a small basket of fruits om the table at the end of his bed.

He glanced down at the figure curled up asleep next to him, her head was leaning on his chest.

"Bella?" He whispered hoarsely. The weakness in his own voice suddenly brought back a rush of memories. Emotions flooded him, as the scene of his older brother's death started playing over and over in his mind like a crappy, broken tape recorder. His eyes filled with anguish and grief. He would've reached into his mind and wrenched out that tape recorder before smashing it against the wall if he could. But sadly, he would have to split his brain open first to do that, and that wasn't exactly a wise idea. All he could do, was try to shrink back into the bed he was lying in, as his emotions overwhelmed him.

He couldn't face it again, it was too much for him to bear. It wasn't just what he had felt then that was haunting him, he was experiencing again everything Yancy had felt right before he had died as well.

Just then, he felt his younger sister stirring. "Ral?" She muttered sleepily as she looked at him with red and puffy eyes. She smacked his chest worriedly when he didn't respond.  
"Bell!" He groaned. The sting of the slap had thankfully yet painfully brought him back to the present. "At least you haven't lost your violent nature." He muttered sarcastically, he couldn't help but grin cheekily when he saw his sister's enraged face. A small, sad smile slowly appeared on the girl's face, before she let out a sigh.  
"Are you okay?" Raleigh asked her after a moment of silence.  
"No," she admitted,"you?"  
Her brother shook his head ruefully. Raleigh gazed at his sister's swollen eyes. It was pretty obvious she had been crying her eyes out. He pushed himself up and leaned against the headboard of his bed, before reaching out and putting an arm around his sister. She laid her head on his shoulder automatically. Even without looking, he knew her eyes were welling up with tears again. But she wouldn't let herself cry that easily. She rarely cried. The last time Raleigh had actually seen her cry, was four years ago. When their parents had died. The urge to cry conquered his pride, and a few hot tears leaked out. Mixing with those of his sister. Bella gazed up at him with raised eyebrows.

"Since when did guys cry?" She asked with a slight smirk.

"Guys don't cry, only real men cry. A real man isn't afraid to show what he is feeling. But then again, I'm crying probably because I've been around you too much." Raleigh said teasingly.

Bella rolled her eyes at her brother's statement, but nestled her head into her brother's neck again.

The two remaining Beckets leaned onto each other and remained in comfortable silence as they grieved for their eldest brother. They stayed like that for over an hour. They would've remained like that the rest of the day, had Stacker Pentecost not burst through the doors of the hospital room.

"You! You lied to me!" Bella burst out before the man could even open his mouth.

"First of all," Pentecost swiftly cut her off, "my name isn't just 'you'. I will be addressed as either 'sir' or 'marshall'. Second of all, what the hell are you talking about?!"

"You said I was too young to be a Jaeger pilot. You said I had to be 18. But Chuck's only 17 as well. So? What have you got to say?" Bella questioned impatiently.

The Marshall's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and he glanced at Raleigh apologetically before replying.

"Ask your brother." He said simply.

The girl frowned in confusion before turning to her brother with a demanding glare on her face.

"Sorry Bell, but Yance and I didn't want you to be in danger. You know how hard it is being a pilot. We didn't want to lose you too, especially after what happened with Mom and Dad, and we didn't know what else to do. Sis, don't be too mad, if you want to punch me, go ahead." Raleigh said

The younger Becket continued glaring at him for a while before giving in and lunging forward to hug him tightly, almost choking her older brother.  
"I know the two of you meant well." She said softly beside his ear.  
"But this," she muttered as she punched him in the left arm while pulling away, "is for lying to me."

Raleigh grimaced in pain, as it was his left arm that had been injured badly when the Kaiju ripped the Jaeger's arm off. He clutched his arm tightly, while gritting his teeth and mock-glaring at his sister.

Stacker chuckled a little at the two siblings' interactions.

"So are the two of you done grieving yet? I've waited over an hour outside." Without even waiting for a reply, Pentecost continued. "Well Miss Becket, now that you know the truth, I'm assuming you'll want to pilot the Gipsy Danger with your brother. The Jaeger is already undergoing repairs. The two of you will be able to pilot it soon."

"Marshall," Raleigh suddenly interrupted. "I want to quit the PPDC. I need to quit. I can't be a Jaeger pilot anymore. I can't... I don't think I'll be able to take it. Not after this." The moment he finished speaking, he cast his eyes to the ground. He didn't dare face the shocked and disappointed stare of the Marshall. He definitely didn't dare to meet his sister's gaze. He wasn't even sure what she would be thinking.

He knew Bella had always wanted to be a Jaeger pilot. It was her dream. It had also been his dream life for a long while, up until this moment. He wasn't sure his sister would understand his decision, and he honestly didn't know what he would do if she refused to leave. This entire place, everyone inside here reminded him of his brother. Everywhere he turned, he could see Yancy smiling his usual goofy grin. And every single second he spent awake, the emotions and memories would occupy his entire mind. He needed to leave this place, but leaving his sister here alone wasn't an option. He could only hope that she would understand.

"Ral, you're serious aren't you?" He heard her sigh sadly.  
"Please Bell, I know it's hard for you, but I have no other choice. I just can't bear living here anymore!" Then, he bit his lower lip and continued. "If you really want to be the co-partner of Gipsy Danger with me, then I guess I will do it. I owe you that at least, for lying to you the past four years."

Bella stared at her brother, shocked. She had no idea what to say as well. She knew that the right thing to do was to be an understanding sister and quit with him. But she wanted to be a Jaeger pilot really badly as well. This was her chance. Her chance to get revenge for her parents, and for Yancy. Her chance to fight for the survival of the world, to be a hero.  
But she couldn't do this to her brother. He was slightly overprotective and a pain in the ass sometimes, but he more than made up for it in many aspects. He genuinely loved and cared for everyone that mattered to him. There was nothing he wouldn't do for his family. Like in this case, he was willing to kill himself mentally just to make his younger sister happy and help her fulfill her dream.

Bella sighed and shook her head slightly. "No Ral, I can't let you do that. Let's quit. It's better for both of us that way. This place reminds me too much of Yance."  
Raleigh smiled in surprise. "Thanks sis." He said, pulling Bella into a brotherly hug.  
From the other side of the room, a loud sigh could be heard from the Marshall, as he let the news sink in. Two of his best rangers were quitting the PPDC. But he nodded disappointedly anyway.

"I'll let you two be then. But you might want to say goodbye to the others before taking off." He said. "They aren't going to be happy. Oh and by the way, Chuck said to tell you he'll come over later." Stacker finished, looking directly at the girl before going out of the door.

"Since when did you know Herc's son that well?" Raleigh asked suspiciously.

"You were out for two whole days Ral, he helped cheer me up a lot. Chuck's really nice."

Raleigh sighed dramatically. "If you say so sis, just don't start falling in love with random guys now."

"Shut up." The girl muttered, nudging her brother playfully.

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A/N: Just wanted to say that you guys are awesome for reading my story! Thank you so much to those who reviewed, favorited or followed. I really do appreciate it! Hope you guys like this chapter. I wanted to show the closeness of the Becket family as well as bring the story to the point where they leave the PPDC. It's just a filler chapter, but I promise some action will come soon!

Thank you for reading, please review and give me feedback, both good and bad!

bella:)


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own Pacific Rim... NOT

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(5 years later, year 2025)

Stacker Pentecost stepped down from his helicopter, taking in his surroundings. A few shabbily clothed men peered out of the entrance of a huge metal building a few yards in front of him. Behind the building, the anti-Kaiju wall stood, casting the city into the shadows. Pentecost eyed the wall evilly. It was this abomination that had caused the decision for the Jaeger program to be disbanded. He still couldn't believe that the people actually thought this wall was able to stop the Kaiju at all. The man shook his head slightly before stepping forward to meet the two young adults who had just emerged from the entrance.

"Pentecost." The young man said grimly. There was a smile on his face, but it did not reach his eyes. He stepped in front of his sister slightly, as if he already knew what the Marshall was about to ask them. Raleigh gently pushed the girl behind him, as if it could prevent the Marshall from inviting her back to the PPDC.

"Raleigh, Bella, can we talk?"

"Of course!" Bella replied with a huge grin on her face excited to see her old friend again.

Raleigh sighed at her enthusiasm.

"Fine." He muttered. "Come this way."

The trio pushed through the throng of poor and ragged construction workers at the entrance. The workers were all busy staring at the sleek, modern helicopter that Pentecost had arrived in.

"Step into our office." Raleigh said sarcastically, gesturing around the filthy factory. None of the other workers were there, but the noise of the machinery was still extremely overwhelming. Sparks erupted from a metal pillar, causing Stacker to duck in alarm.

Brother and sister chuckled in response.

"So Marshall, I'm betting didn't come here just to say hi. What is it?" Raleigh asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Glad you asked, we need you two back at the PPDC as Jaeger pilots."

"Not a chance Marshall, I can't go back. Why don't you ask someone else? I'm guessing we weren't your first choice." Raleigh answered almost immediately.

Bella turned to her brother with a scowl on her face. Raleigh shot a glare back at her.

"You two were my first... and only choices. All the other Mark-3 pilots are dead."

"Look, I can't have anyone else in my head again. I'm done. I was still connected to my brother when he died. I can't go through that again, I'm sorry.."

"This isn't just about your childish emotions or keeping your sister safe any more. It's about survival. The survival of Earth." The two men stood facing each other with grim expressions on their faces, while Bella nervously looked on, unsure of what to say or do. When Raleigh didn't say anything for a long while, Pentecost continued. "The world is coming to an end. So where would you rather die?! Here or in a Jaeger?!." His voice was booming and stern.

Raleigh kept silent, staring at his feet uncomfortably. Bella rolled her eyes at her brother even though he couldn't see it.

"Ral," she started as she pulled him to one side, away from the Marshall. "Stacker's right, we can't just continue sitting here waiting for the world to end. We have to help. We can help and we should help."

"We are helping!" Raleigh protested weakly, "We're building the wall here. It's supposed to help keep Kaiju out."

"Yeah right, like it's worked so far. Look at what happened in Australia!" The girl shot back. "We have to go back and be pilots, and it's not about the glory and fame for me this time. I admit, I was childish and selfish before. But now, I need to go back for the survival of mankind and not for the fame. I can't sit back and watch, and I know you can't as well. Please Ral, the Jaegers are the Earth's last hope and you know that." She ended off her little speech, and stared into her brother's eyes determinedly as if it could make him change his mind. She was desperate, desperate to help. She couldn't bear with the thought of sitting by and watching the world end. She wasn't even concerned about killing the Kaiju to avenge her parents and Yancy as she had been before. The change in her mindset towards being a pilot was so subtle that she hadn't even realized it throughout the past five years.

She supposed she was being selfish as well, by wanting to be helpful and all, she was also dragging her unwilling brother into it. A huge and exaggerated sigh from her brother interrupted her thoughts.

"Guess I have no choice then. You should be a lawyer Bell. Persuading me like that." He cracked a rueful grin at his sister and wrapped her in a brotherly hug. After pulling away, he turned to face Pentecost again, the slight smile on the older man's face confirming that he had heard the entire exchange.

His sister looked up at him, "Thank you." She said softly, grinning proudly at him. It felt strange to have his younger sister be proud of him. It should have been the other way round. But he felt proud of himself as well, in a way. He would probably regret his decision later. But for now, he would rather not think about it.

The Becket siblings followed Pentecost out of the rusty, old factory and headed towards the helicopter waiting for them.

An hour later found the two siblings stepping out into heavy shower in Hong Kong. Just in front of them was the Hong Kong shatterdome. The last shatterdome on Earth, and it would be shutting down in a few short months, provided the Kaijus didn't destroy it along with the entire planet first.

The girl absent-mindedly stepped off the last few steps onto the hard tarmac ground. A young Japanese woman, immediately walked over to her gracefully with a large black umbrella. She offered Bella shelter under the umbrella with a slight gesture, but the girl shook her head and smiled briefly, not wanting to seem rude.

"I'm Mako Mori." The asian girl introduced herself. "You must be Bella Becket."

Bella nodded and shook her outstretched hand. It was a good thing she had cleaned herself up in the helicopter. All the filth she had accumulated from the construction site would definitely stand out next to Mako, who was dressed in a neat black blouse.

Her brother and Pentecost stopped beside the two girls.

"Mr. Becket, this is Mako Mori. One of my brightest, also in charge of the Mark 3 restoration program."

Mako eyed Raleigh skeptically, and a look of disapproval flitted across her face. She stared hard at the smears of dust and machine oil that coated every inch of his body. Raleigh knew he looked horribly filthy, but he stared back at her, challenging her to say something.

Finally, Mako turned to Stacker and talked quietly to him in Japanese.

"What did she say?" Bella whispered to her brother, nudging him slightly. She had zero knowledge of Japanese, while her brother had picked up some from when he was a teenager. She remembered how obsessed he was with learning the language back then.

"She says..." He started, frowning in concentration for a moment. "I imagined him differently." His scowl deepened, and he replied her in perfect Japanese. "Excuse me, I'm right here."

The look of surprise and embarrassment on Mako's face was priceless to the two Beckets.

"Of course. My sincere apologies, Mr. Becket." Mako swiftly apologized, switching back to English. Mako bowed her head slightly to them. The two siblings did the same as well, albeit much clumsier than the Japanese girl.

"Come on then." Pentecost urged them towards the hanger. "The two of you will get a tour of the facility first, and then Miss Mori will show you to Gipsy Danger.

All of a sudden, two men rushed after them into the hanger

"Wait for us!" One of them, with short, brown, slightly curly hair yelled out.

"Thank you! Thank you!" The other man exclaimed in between taking deep breaths. He had light brown hair which had been spiked up slightly, and green eyes framed by a pair of black glasses.

He placed the tank he was carrying carefully onto the elevator floor. Inside the tank, were several pieces of Kaiju organs.

"Stand back, Kaiju specimens are extremely rare, so look but don't touch, please." He said to them.

"This is our research team. Dr. Gottlieb, Dr. Geiszler. And doctors, these are the Becket siblings."

"Call me Newt. Only my mother calls me doctor." Newton Geiszler said to the siblings, smiling warmly at them. He chuckled a little before turning to his friend.

"Hermann, these are human beings. Why don't you say hello?"

"I have asked you not to refer to me by my first name in front of others for ten years." He complained exasperatedly to Newton.

All that moment, Raleigh caught sight a very familiar tattoo on Newton's arms.

"What is that, Yamarashi?" Raleigh asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, you've got a good eye, it is that Kaiju."

"My brother and I took it down in 2017."

"You know he was one of the biggest Category 3's ever? He was two thousand five hundred tons of awesome." Newton gushed out enthusiastically.

However, there was an awkward silence as Raleigh and Bella gave him cold looks. Newton immediately tried to backtrack.

"Or awful, you know, whatever you wanna call it."

"Please, excuse him." Hermann intervened. "He's a Kaiju groupie, he loves them."

"Shut up, Hermann. I don't love them, okay? I study them. And unlike most people, I wanna see one live and up close one day."

"Trust me, you don't want to." Raleigh said.

"It's probably gonna be the last sight you see." Bella stated pointedly. "Or not." She added guiltily at the sight of Newton's dismayed face.

The elevator doors opened again and the small group stepped out, headed by Pentecost.

"So that's your research division?" Raleigh asked, shooting a glance at the two men struggling to carry the tanks to the lab.

"Things have changed." Stacker replied. "We're not an army anymore. We're the resistance."

The large metal doors slid open.

"This is the war clock isn't it?" Bella asked, looking up at the huge digital clock hanging above the entrance. "A week to the next attack?!"

"If we're lucky. Our experts believe there will be a Kaiju attack even before that." He sighed heavily. "This complex used to launch thirty Jaegers in five days. Now we only have four Jaegers left."

"I didn't know it was this bad." Raleigh said.

"It is that bad."

Pentecost pointed to a glinting, red, three-armed Jaeger on their right. "Crimson Typhoon, China. One of the greatest. Assembled in Changzhou. Full titanium core alloys, fifty diesel engine per muscle strand. A deadly precise fighter. He's piloted by the Wei Tang brothers, triplets. They successfully defended the Hong Kong port seven times. They used the Thundercloud formation."

The triplets were shooting hoops in front of the Jaeger, they moved with blinding speed and threw the ball with perfect accuracy.

"Very effective." Raleigh mused.

His sister, on the other hand, paid no attention to Pentecost at all. Instead, she stared ahead at the barely visible top of the Jaeger, Striker Eureka. _Chuck_. His name echoed in her head, and she savored the sweetness of the way it sounded. She had shut him away for too long now. She had locked up every single memory of him together with all her memories from her time in the PPDC in a large box, and had shoved it roughly into the back if her mind five years ago. She had forced herself not to think about him as it would make her miserable, and that would cause the guilt to eat away at her brother even more. She hadn't wanted to make her brother feel upset and guilty about the whole quitting business. She knew it hurt him enough, and to add on to his burden would be cruel.

Raleigh had done everything in his power to make her life as comfortable as possible. He had volunteered to work at the top of the wall, while she was forced to work at the bottom of the wall where it was safest. He had pushed to her portions of their hard-earned food that were much bigger than his. He had given in to her for most of the petty little arguments they had had the past five years. She knew he was trying to make up for taking her away from the Jaeger program.

But it was all over now, Chuck was here. Just around the corner. After five long years. She wondered if he would still be mad at her. They had argued for hours when she told him she was leaving. He didn't see any reason for her to leave, and he thought it was foolish of her to agree to her brother. When they'd finally gotten weary and tired of arguing, all they had managed were bitter goodbyes and an awkward, short hug.

Bella suddenly felt apprehensive about seeing Chuck again. After relieving all those memories, she was unsure of Chuck's reaction to her coming back. Would he be overjoyed, or were things going to be awkward between them? Even worse, were they going to argue again?

The Marshall had just finished introducing Cherno Alpha, the Russian Jaeger. As the four of them rounded the corner, Bella hung back a little. Raleigh noticed immediately and cast her a worried glance. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She replied, nodding her head slightly.

Her legs felt as though they had been glued tightly to the floor, but her heart was thumping wildly and it felt like it was pushing ferociously against her rib cage, trying to get to Chuck. As a result, she walked with an inelegant limp.

"Herc! Chuck!" The Marshall called out loudly. "Look who's here." Pentecost had a slight grin on his face as he caught sight of the boy. _Those two were definitely going to have a long-awaited reunion, _he thought.

Chuck turned his head, and his eyes landed on the girl. "Bella..."

* * *

A/N: Hey!:D Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, its pretty long. I'm so sorry for not updating earlier, I had tons of homework to do as my exams are coming. But I'll be able to write chapters much faster after all my exams! Plus, I finally found a script of the movie online, so now I can refer to the script instead of wasting time searching youtube for a clip of the scene I'm writing about. I used to spend hours just searching, and most of the time, I wasn't able to find any useful videos. Anyway, I NOW HAVE THE SCRIPT! And life is so much easier!XD

See ya all later, and please do review to tell me what you thought. Good, bad and the ugly.

bella:)


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Pacific Rim, but I do own a really comfortable bed which I feel like sleeping in right now.

* * *

"Hey, Chuck." The girl replied.

She stopped several feet away from him, unsure of what to say. She jammed her hands into the pockets of her jeans, biting her lips nervously as she waited for Chuck's response.

Chuck turned his body to face her directly and folded his arms across his chest. "Well? Aren't you gonna give your best friend a hug?" He smirked at Bella's surprised face before opening his arms widely as she ran straight into them.

"I missed you," the girl whispered quietly as they pulled apart. "I thought you were still angry with me."

"I missed ye too Bell, and I am still angry with you, it's just that I missed you more." Chuck said, grinning so widely he thought his lips had stretched across his entire face.

"Well I guess I'll just hide under my bed when your anger resurfaces, and wait there until it blows away. I know you have a tendency to smash stuff when you're angry. But for now, I'm happy to have your little Australian accent back." The girl teased.

Chuck opened his mouth to retort, but was abruptly cut off when Raleigh cleared his throat loudly.

"Since when were the two of you so close?" Raleigh questioned, his eyes narrowing into slits. "You guys aren't together... Right?"

"You've got to be kidding me." Bella rolled her eyes teasingly at her overprotective older brother.

"We're just friends." Chuck continued.

Best friends." The girl added with a smile.

"Technically speaking, you're one of my only friends." He teased.

"Aww shut up Chuck." The girl nudged him with her elbow, and he winced.

"You were out for days Raleigh," The older Hansen explained, putting his hand on Raleigh's shoulder, "I introduced them to each other, thought it would help ye sister."

Raleigh sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose resignedly. He opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it and closed his mouth again, ending up looking like a fish that was out of water.

"Herc and Chuck will be running Striker Eureka, the first and last of the Mark 5's." Stacker interjected before the two youngsters could be further harassed by Raleigh. "Australia decommissioned it a day before the Sydney attacks."

"Yeah, it was lucky we were still around." Herc said.

"Yep, now it's running point for us."

"Wait, running point on what?" Raleigh interrupted.

"Yeah, you haven't told us what we're doing here yet." His sister continued.

"We're going for the breach. Striker's gonna be carrying two nuclear warheads and we're gonna be detonating equivalent of 1.2 million tons of TNT. You and the  
other Jaegers will be running defence."

"Sounds like a plan Marshall." Bella said with a smile. "God it feels good to be calling you that again."

"Feels good to hear it from you again as well Miss Becket." The man replied, with a slight smile forming on his lips. "I expect to see both of you tomorrow at the training arena, don't be late. Raleigh, your candidates will be waiting."

"Wait, I thought Bella was already going to be my co-pilot." Raleigh questioned, narrowing his eyes.

"Most probably, but she'll have to prove that she's maintained her usual standards. Mr Becket, you'll be sparring against several candidates picked by Ms Mori tomorrow. Good luck you two. Herc, shall we?"

The two of them walked off in the direction of the lab.

"The two of them sounded like secret lovers." Bella whispered to Chuck. "Herc shall we?" She mimicked in a seductive voice, winking at the end, causing her best friend to snort in laughter.

"Come on, I'll show the two of you to Gipsy Danger." Mako said to the siblings.

"Uh Mako, do you mind if I show Bella around first? You can bring her brother to the Jaeger, I'll bring her there later."

"No, I don't mind." She replied formally with her thick Japanese accent, and started towards the hangers.

"Have fun with her!" Bella whispered teasingly, nudging her brother lightly.

"Oh yeah? Well have fun with Chuck too!" He replied smirking.

"Ral!" She exclaimed in a whisper, blushing furiously before smacking his arm and stomping off back to Chuck.

"Lets go." She grumbled, as the two of them walked off.

"Come on, I'll show you my room. It's on the way to the lab. I'll bring you there later and introduce you to Newt and Hermann. Those two are the craziest pair of scientists you'll ever meet."

"Already met them," Bella replied chuckling. "They quarrel like an old married couple!"

"I know! I first met them last week, and it was so hilarious talkin' to them, I've been going back to the lab to visit them every few hours!" Chuck exclaimed. "Here." He said, stopping in front of a door. "My room. I have to share it with my dad, but oh well. It sure beats sleeping in makeshift shelters like most people today."

The girl peered into the room. Inside was two unmade beds, each shoved again opposite ends of the room. One side was plain with only three photographs stuck to the wall, one of Herc, a nine year old Chuck and a beautiful young woman who appeared to be the same age as Herc. The second was a picture of Herc and Chuck standing proudly in front of Striker Eureka, and the last one had a younger Herc together with another young man who looked like him.

"Is that your mother?" She asked Chuck cautiously, he had told her about the day his mother had died during that first meeting.

"Yeah."

"Sorry," she quickly backtracked. "I shouldn't have brought that up."

"It's okay, you aren't the bloody Kaiju that killed her."

Bella nodded, chewing her lower lip anxiously. "Is that your uncle?" She asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Sure is." He replied, gazing at the young man who stood smiling with his father in the photo. "Scott Hansen, he is a great guy. He was fun and easygoing all the time. He was co-pilot with my father until 2019, when he was dismissed for misconduct. He left, and I never saw him again."

"Oh... Why didn't he come back?"

"Don't really know, probably still pissed with my dad. Herc was the one that reported him."

"I see..." She mumbled awkwardly. "That's sad, I think Yance did mention something about Scott being pretty cool."

"Yeah," he nodded with a sad smile. "Hey, you wanna see my side of the room?"

"Of course!" She replied grinning.

The wall above the boy's bed was covered with posters and more posters of the Striker Eureka. There were a few of Gipsy and some other Jaegers as well. Plastered messily amongst the posters were many different photographs. Most were of him and his mother. Some had his uncle, and a few included his father. Closest to his pillow, was a photo of himself and Bella grinning crazily into the camera with their arms slung around each other's shoulders.

"Ooh! I remember that photo! I'm gonna put it up on the wall when I unpack later!" The girl exclaimed.

"Of course you remember, I would've beaten you to a pulp if you'd forgotten about it."

"Haha, very funny. You lay a single finger on me and I'll snap your hand clean off." She replied grinning slyly. "Besides, how could I have forgotten about it? It's the only photo we've ever taken together."

"True, we only spent a week together, and you spent the entire time brooding beside your brother."

"Shut up. It was understandable for me to spend the whole time brooding!" She said plopping down on his bed. "I honestly don't know why I became best friends with you, my little Australian jerk." She continued, shaking her head mockingly.

"It's because I'm awesome that's why! And also because my accent is 'adorable' as you always say." He retorted, smirking.

"Lets just get to the lab." She said sighing. "Or else we'll end up bickering like little kids again."

"Like old times huh?"

"Yep, but I was so much better than you at bickering."

"No..." He replied slowly. "I was the one with all the witty comebacks." With that, the two of them started bickering again all the way to the lab.

* * *

A/N: Omg! Finally finished the chapter! I'm not sure if this chapter was up to standard or not, because it's mostly filler. It was originally meant for just Bella and Chuck's reunion, but it ended up being only 600 words long, so I added some insight to Chuck. Some stuff I made up, but I mostly followed the facts from the wiki.

Anyway, I'm here to answer questions too. Because I'm such a failure, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to reply reviews here or somewhere else... (Please leave a review or pm me if you know!):  
Hi Kayla:)  
You asked,  
1. relationship between Raleigh and Mako?  
2. relationship between Bella & Chuck?  
3. Will Chuck died in this universe?

All I can tell you is,  
1. Yeah, they will still be together at the end, but there's a difference in the progress of their relationship.  
2. You'll have to wait a few more chapters to find out, but I think you'll be able to guess... HeheXP  
3. Can't spoil that one for you! But don't worry I've got the entire story planned out:) You'll find out soon:)

Anyway... Thank you to everyone reading this story! Especially those who reviewed! It makes me super happy whenever I get a review! Please do tell me what you think or you can ask me questions as well! I'll try my best to answer them without spoiling too much! Hope you guys like this update, byeee!

bella:)


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Pacific Rim sadly...

* * *

Bella never thought there would ever be a day where she would jump for joy at the prospect of eating peas. But jump for joy was what she did, at the sight of the small green vegetables being scooped onto her plate.

"Since when were you so excited about peas?" Her brother questioned, raising an eyebrow and eyeing her suspiciously. "You used to hate them."

"Yeah, but the last time I even saw these little things was nearly a decade ago." The girl replied. "Peas are at least a million times better than that gruel we ate at the construction site."

"True." Raleigh muttered, taking a bite of the peas as he walked away from the line with his sister.

"Raleigh, Bella, come sit with us." Herc said, coming up on Raleigh's right. He gestured towards where his son was sitting, two tables away.

"No, I'm okay. Thank you." The older Becket replied hurriedly. He could already see Chuck Hansen smiling eagerly at his sister. The two of them had already spent the whole morning together, and he wasn't about to let them spend even more time with each other. Raleigh scanned the room for Mako Mori instead. He found her quiet demeanour really intriguing. There was something about her that suggested a deeper than what he saw, and his childishly curious mind just couldn't let it go. Unfortunately, his sister had other plans in mind.

"Ignore my brother Herc, he's just being grumpy. We'd love to sit with you guys." The girl interrupted.

Sighing, Raleigh followed his sister over to the table.

"I haven't seen bread in a while." Raleigh said to the older man.

"Hong Kong. Beauty of an open port, no rations. Potatoes, beans, sweet peas, decent meatloaf." Herc replied, spearing a chunk of potato with his fork as he talked.

Chuck looked up from his conversation with Bella. "So what have the two of you been doing for the past five years? Something pretty important I reckon."

"We were in construction, for The Wall." Raleigh replied.

"Oh, that's great. I mean, that's really useful. You know, we get into a fight you can build our way out of there, hey, Ray?"

"It's Raleigh." He snapped back, shooting a quick glare at his sister who was sniggering loudly. "And in case you've forgotten, Bella was working there with me as well."

His sister immediately shut up and turned towards Chuck, narrowing her eyes angrily.

"That's even worse. How could you let her work in such a place? How could you let her do such hard work? What kind of brother are you?! Letting your own little sister have a job that could get her killed!"

"Chuck, I was the one who insisted on working there. Besides, I was working at the bottom of the wall. How much danger could I have gotten into from there?"

"Loads. A Kaiju could've attacked the wall and killed you. Some crazed construction worker could've beaten you up." Chuck stated harshly, pausing to see his words sink into the girl. Bella's face immediately morphed into one of hurt and frustration. He was instantly overcome with guilt. He would've taken back his words if he could, but he pressed on instead.

"Whatever." He said, trying to dismiss his earlier words, before turning to Raleigh. "Look, you're Pentecost's bright idea. My old man, he seems to like you, but it's guys like you who brought down the Jaeger program. To me, you're dead weight. You slow me down, I'm gonna drop you like a sack of Kaiju shit."

"Chuck." His best friend growled out. Her lips were drawn back into a snarl. Her words carried a threat that he missed the moment he caught her eyes. The deep sea blue of her irises. They glowered with anger, as she stared into the boy's churning sapphire orbs. Anger met with guilt, clashing like waves in a stormy sea. Slowly and hesitatingly, they subsided and both youngsters looked away from each other hurriedly.

Bella cast her eyes to the ground. She didn't know what to feel. She was angry and confused. She had been angry, but his eyes... She had never really noticed the brilliant blue of his eyes. Perhaps it came as a shock, she told herself, there was no other reason why her anger would have just decided to ebb away at that moment.

"I'll see you around Raleigh." Chuck finally muttered, breaking the tense silence. He glanced at Bella, longing to say something but he was afraid he would mess up again.

In the end, his courage lost the battle to his irrational nervousness. He gave a quick whistle to Max, his bulldog, before striding out of the dining hall.

Herc let out a small sigh at his son's retreating back. "He's a smart kid, but I never knew whether to give him a hug or a kick in the ass."

"With respect, sir, I'm pretty sure which one he needs." Raleigh replied bitterly. "Are you going to train later sis?" He continued, in an attempt to break the strained atmosphere.

"I'm going to train now." She replied stiffly, standing up with her empty tray. "I'll meet you back at our room tonight."

•~• line break thingy (isn't that face cute?!) •~•

Perspiration trickled down her face, the regular drip echoing loudly on the wooden floor. The girl's fist connected with the bag yet again, with the rhythmic thump resounding loudly. The training room was empty except for her.

When all her frustration had finally been vented out onto the punching bag, Bella finally picked the wooden stick on the floor. It had been too long since she had last sparred with someone using a stick, or even sparred with anyone at all. She twirled the stick around in her hands a couple of times, getting used to the feeling of holding it again. Experimentally, she jabbed it into the air, following up with a quick side-slash and a thrust. Too slow, she thought, picking up speed as she danced across the room, wielding the wooden rod and attacking the air with ferocious speed. The feeling was exhilarating. It had definitely been way too long. At last, she reached the other end of the room, the stick frozen in place an inch away from the wall. She held it still for a second before collecting it and planting it firmly by her side.

A soft clapping started from behind her. Startled, she whipped her head around immediately, and pointed the weapon towards the noise.

"Chuck?" She meant it as a statement, but it came out more as a question, as all the confusion and frustration she had managed to release onto the punching bag came flooding back to her at the sight of him leaning on the frame of the door. "What are you doing here?" She asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

The boy took in a deep breath, and raised himself from the doorway. He jammed his hands into his pocket nervously, a habit he had picked up from Bella five years ago, while they were waiting for her brother to wake up.

"Look Bell, I'm sorry." He said softly.

"What did you say? You do realise I'm all the way across the room right?" She stated with a slight smirk, attempting to shake off the uneasiness between them. She didn't want to quarrel with him. It had been a long five years, and she didn't want to ruin the first day of their reunion with all this meaningless arguments. The morning had been fun, hanging out with Newton and Hermann, exploring the entire shatterdome and most of all, catching up with her best friend. Everything had been fine up till lunch, of only Chuck had been able to keep his big insensitive mouth shut.

The two of them met each other halfway across the room, stopping only a feet apart from each other.

"I said, I'm sorry." He repeated. "I know I shouldn't have said all those things to you and your brother, but I meant it for your own good. As for your brother, well I was just pissed with him for bringing you away. I'm not taking what I said back, he deserved it."

"Chuck, will you please just let it go? I chose to go with him remember? But that doesn't matter, I'm back, so let's just forget about it."

Frowning slightly, he gave a quick nod. The girl smiled, "thanks Chuckie." She whispered playfully. Chuck grinned despite the new nickname.

"C'mere."

The two young adults embraced each other tightly, their arms locked around each other. Bella buried her face into Chuck's shoulder, breathing in deeply before exhaling. The warm, salty aroma of the beach flooded her senses, as she relished the familiar scent. Then she realised that her shirt was still soaked in perspiration. She pulled back in alarm, but Chuck kept her from retreating about a mile away to the shower. His muscular arms held her locked only a few inches away from his own body.

"I—" She abruptly shut up the moment she caught sight of his eyes once again. Her attention was immediately captured within the mesmerising blueness. Unconsciously, they both leaned towards each other, their faces barely an inch apart.

Chuck closed his eyes instinctively. At that moment, he instantly realised everything. The way he felt towards her, the emotions that were churning inside him meant something. He understood. He understood the frustration, the longing, the anxiousness. But most of all, he understood the reason behind the feeling of having a piñata of goodness burst in his stomach every time he was with her. Other people said they had butterflies, he had piñatas.

But just at that moment, a familiar voice came echoing down the hallway.

"Bella! Are you done training? It's almost time for dinner!" The older Becket shouted as he neared the room.

The two youngsters pulled apart as quick as lightning. Chuck looked down and took an involuntary step back. Bella's cheeks flushed a deep crimson red, her eyes glued to the wooden floorboards.

"Bell? What are you doing with Chuck?" Raleigh questioned suspiciously.

"I... uh—"

"Forget it," he interjected. "I don't want to know. You're old enough anyway. Hurry up and take your bath."

The younger Becket sneaked one last anxious glance at Chuck before hurrying after her older brother.

Right now, she was downright confused. He was her best friend for god's sake! What was happening to them? One minute they were angry, and the next they were... She didn't even want to think about it. But she had come so close, and shockingly, she had wanted it to happen. Stupid older brother, stupid Raleigh. The turmoil of emotions within her was rising to the surface again, threatening to spill over.

* * *

A/N: So, how do you guys like this chapter? I honestly feel like kicking myself in the face now, I have no clue whether what I just wrote was even remotely romantic or not... Do you guys find it romantic? (Please say yes!) *sighs*

Review and tell me what you think! Be it good or bad, because I love reviews and I just figured out how to respond to them thanks to my cousin. Thank you so much to those who have favorited and followed and reviewed!:) Well, I think I'm gonna go hide in a corner and cry about my failure now...Byeee

bella:)


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